Our second cohort of Keynote Queers begins today and we are excited to share with our Pride and Joy Foundation family about the successes of one of our Keynote Queer graduates, Amy E. Porter (she/they). After Keynote Queers, Amy has spoken to over 1000 medical professionals across the world and incorporated her own non-profit, Tiny HeartsCan Foundation, the only non-profit in North America dedicated to prenatal detection of Congenital Heart Disease (CHD). 

We interviewed Amy to learn more about CHD, how Amy began Tiny HeartsCan, and about their upcoming fundraiser, the Acorn Project. Keep reading for important information around CHD awareness and advocacy. "One heart scan, so tiny hearts can."

Tiny HeartsCan Acorn Project Fundraiser

The Acorn Project fundraiser will launch on March 20, 2023. Acorn keychains will be given as a free gift for any single donation of $25 or more via e-transfer or donation on our website, www.tinyheartscan.org/donate...

In February, Elena Joy Thurston was a guest on the Energy is Love Podcast hosted by spouses Steph and Craig. Their conversation was abundant in subject matter, but one main thread stood out among all of this: helpful information for surviving and thriving change and transformations in relationship dynamics, particularly around parent and child.   

Change is hard. We are creatures of habit. Transformations are challenging, but so powerful. We are constantly witnessing transformations around us: Spring has arrived, caterpillars turn to butterflies, clouds pass us in the sky, taking their own shapes in fractions of time. It’s natural. So shouldn’t we be more intune when it happens in our own families and households? You would think. 

Whether, like Elena mentioned in the interview, you are a parent coming out to your children, or a parent with a child coming out about their gender or sexuality, or even a parent dealing with a late teen/early...

Editor’s Note:  We first published Jake’s story in July 2020.  It is now a year later, we felt (and Jake agreed) that the timing was right to share his story again.  Jake is one year into having “fired” his homophobic side and if you’ve followed him on Social Media, you know just how amazing his life has become.  If you’re new to his story, have a read and then check him out.  It’s a beautiful journey.  

It Was Time For Him to Go

I’m coming off a high. I just fired someone, and it was one of the crowning achievements of my adult life. I made sure to make a scene of it too by gathering everyone into the conference room, laying out a long list of offenses, and walking him out of the room and building to never return. It was awesome!

Nine months earlier I came out as gay to my wife of 13 years. I married her with the best of intentions, desiring to do all that was expected of me as a man in...

As Pride Month 2021 comes to a close, here is a review of the most commonly asked questions from parents of LGBTQ+ kids.    

I’m pretty sure my kid is LGBTQ+ but they haven’t come out.  Why aren’t they being honest with me?  

Not being out with your parents is very common in the LGBTQ+ community. The coming out journey begins with being out to yourself, and depending on the environment you're being raised in, it can feel unsafe to be authentic even to yourself, let alone your parents. The more comfortable a child is with their own identity, the more likely they'll come out to their parents.  

Obviously, parents and caregivers influence that comfort level. But home life can be very accepting and the child might still struggle to accept their identity themselves. It’s a very personal journey, which can feel disconcerting since we’re their parents. We wiped their bums for goodness sake! We feel heavily...

Mindfulness is something we could all use more of as we re-enter the real world, especially kids. Despite our efforts to limit it, the amount of screen time they’ve had this past year has skyrocketed because of distance learning on computers for hours throughout the day. 

And, as if that wasn’t enough, they have been isolated at home, without face-to-face contact with their affirming friends, family, and community. 

Suffice to say, this last year has been anything but normal. Quite the contrary. We could say it was as rare as a unicorn... albeit an isolated unicorn, at home on the computer. You get the point.

Now that we embark on returning to socializing, having somewhat of a real summer, and going back to school in the Fall, it’s important to support your kiddos with Mindfulness practices as they transition back to the real world.

What is Mindfulness? 

Mindfulness is awareness of the present moment, with kindness and curiosity, and...

Parenting is already the hardest job in the world, and when you add sexuality to the mix, it gets even more challenging.

Whether your child is just beginning to question their sexuality or is ready to buy every rainbow they see, we are here to provide connection and support. Without judgment.

'Cause parenting is hard enough without being judged by other parents. We see you and we need you.

Join us on www.PrideAndJoyParents.com!

Parent Connection is a support network for parents who needs help and guidance in handling matters relating to their children's sexuality.

Acceptance, support, and understanding are one of the best things that LGBTQ+ children will ever receive, especially from their parents. As such, we all know that you, as parents, want to give your best to your child, however, you're not invincible.

Parenting is already a challenge of its own, your child's sexuality being part of the equation opens up a whole other set of challenges. Our goal is to provide a safe space...

Imagine you're a parent and your child just came out to you. Maybe with their sexual orientation, maybe their gender identity, maybe both. And now you look around at your co-workers, friends, and family, and realize "I don't know who to ask for help. I never knew I would need this kind of help. Who is safe to talk to?"

Wouldn't you want other parents who are farther down the road to ask those awkward questions? Would you want to get to know successful adults who identify just like your child does, to give you inspiration on what their future holds?

Would you love to hear presentations about financial issues, finding safe college campuses, planning inclusive weddings, working with faith communities, and more?!

We got you fam. And thanks to sponsors like Matrix Service Company, @fluidebeauty, and Desert Dimensions Properties, we have scholarship tickets available.

We see you, we love you, and we want you with us.

Join us this weekend in the LGBTQ+ Family & Influencer Summit!...

What Do You Mean You Don’t Believe in Gender?

If you’ve visited my website you may have noticed that I am a transgender man who doesn’t believe in gender. How can I say that I am a transgender man and at the same time have the opinion that gender isn’t a real thing? Hmmm, that’s an excellent question and perhaps by the end of this post, I will have clarification not only for you but for myself.

You see the thing is, I have this knowing and it is strong and undeniable. I am a man. But what does that even mean? I think for me it means that I know without a shadow of a doubt that I should have been born with a penis. I wasn’t though, which is why I am transgender. Because I was born without a penis, the doctors took a look at me and said “it’s a girl”. Imagine making such a ridiculous mistake. Of course, it wasn’t ridiculous on the part of the doctor because our society says no penis=girl and penis=boy.

We all have a basic...

                                         CHOOSING TO BE GOOD PARENTS

As someone has said, parenting is the easiest thing in the world to have an opinion about, but the hardest thing in the world to actually do.

In India, parenting is something everybody around you involved in; the grandparents, uncles, aunts, neighbours and the list goes on. This is because there is an unofficial fundamental right to peep into how others are raising their children and make comments and suggestions and also teach them religious and ‘traditional values’ if they get a chance. 

Yes, it is stupid, but unfortunately true. Joint families still exist in India, hesitating to break into nuclear ones. This makes it more common to have a lot of people getting involved in the process of raising a child. Even if the family is a nuclear one, the grandparents never step back from their...

When I was 38 I had to come out to my Dad.  He was 72.  I had been married to a man for 18 years, I had four of his six grandchildren.  I can't imagine the bombshell that was for him.  

My Dad was born in New England and he spent his entire childhood there, son of an accountant and the local Masonic lodge leader.  After high school, he joined the Coast Guard.  After that he was an ironworker, building almost every bridge on the seacoast.  

There's an infamous story, happened way before I was born.  He and his crew were working in the 70s on a skyscraper in Hartford, CT.  On their lunch break, they unwittingly wandered into a gay bar.  You can imagine how that went down.  The cops were eventually called to break up the fight and Dad was thrown in jail.  My mom left him there for the night.  (I LOVE THIS STORY, my dad was in JAIL, you guys.)

In an effort to save their marriage which was on the rocks from the...